Bundesliga side impressed with Dubai facilities

Borussia Monchengladbach are the latest team to embark on a mid-season training camp in Dubai.Many European football leagues have a winter break due to the cold conditions and some clubs see this as an ideal opportunity to engage in some warm weather training - and there are few better places for this than the UAE.Monchengladbach - who finished fourth in last season's Bundesliga - have lined up a couple of friendlies during their stay in the emirate.Indeed, they are set to play German rivals Hamburg on January 9th and Eintracht Frankfurt two days later.Captain Filip Daems told the National that he has been suitably impressed by the immaculate facilities in Dubai."We just finished our first training session and I would say the facilities in Dubai are probably the best I have seen in terms of a training camp since I have been a professional," he was quoted as saying."Hopefully we can have some valuable training here and enjoy the two games we play later this week."Monchengladbach will be hoping their mid-season break in the UAE will give them a boost in what promises to be a lively second half of the season.They went into the winter break in eighth position in the league, leaving them within touching distance of the all-important Uefa Champions League positions.Monchengladbach have also progressed to the final 32 of the Europa League, where they will face Italian club Lazio over two legs.The fact that such a famous club with a proud history has chosen to spend some time in Dubai is testament to the city's growing status as a global sporting hub.It is not just the top class football pitches and training complexes that have put the emirate on the map, though.A number of top class international cricket teams have also set up camp in Dubai in recent years.England were the latest high-profile outfit to try out the city's state-of-the-art facilities ahead of their tour of India.